TIP SHEET: 2009-092June 1, 2009 International Year of Astronomy Event Comes to Pasadena

WHAT: The public is invited to celebrate the International Year of Astronomy 2009 at the Pasadena Convention Centeron June 6. The event includes a variety of fun, family-oriented, hands-on activities and exhibit booths, such as a telescope for observing the sun and a 100-foot scale model of our solar system. Special indoor presentations will be made using a portable planetarium and a digital data immersion environment from the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York. The event is presented by organizations attending the subsequent summer meeting of the American Astronomical Society.

A stargazing party will follow that evening. Saturn, in particular, will be well positioned for viewing. Small telescopes will be provided by the Old Town Sidewalk Astronomers.

WHO: The event is organized by representatives of the International Year of Astronomy 2009, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., and the Rochester Institute of Technology/NASA AstroZone team. Exhibitors include the popular Astronomy Cast podcast and the Galaxy Zoo citizen-science.

WHEN:Saturday, June 6, from 4 to 8 p.m., followed by a stargazing party ending around 9:30 p.m. The telescope viewing and some of the afternoon outdoor activities are subject to weather conditions.

WHERE: Pasadena Convention Center, 300 E. Green St. in Pasadena. Phone number: (626) 793-2122. Driving directions and parking information are available online at http://www.pasadenacenter.com/-directions.html. A street map posted on that site includes a rose and purple background, which indicates where the outdoor astronomy activities and bazaar will be held.

The U.S. IYA2009 program is supported by the National Science Foundation and NASA, and by private donations. The American Astronomical Society is the U.S. liaison to the IYA2009 program via the International Astronomical Union. Key U.S. partners include the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, the National Optical Astronomy Observatory, the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, the Chandra X-Ray Observatory, and the National Radio Astronomy Observatory. The California Institute of Technology in Pasadena manages JPL for NASA.